Introducing rPOV
Hi! I’m about to say the quiet part out loud, so you may want to grab a coffee, dirty soda, matcha, or boring ol’ alcoholic beverage and take several seats.
I’ve worked with and for some terrible people and terrible companies in our industry.
We’re talking about people and places who tried to silence me, who threatened my job, my salary, my promotions when my opinions, positions or morals didn’t fit their plans. We’re also talking about people and places who tried to do the same to teams I managed and who I felt a fierce sense of duty to protect, which most of you can’t even begin to understand the toll that weight takes on a female middle manager. Basically, throughout my career, a lot of people have wanted me to “sit down and shut up.”
You’re probably wondering, “Sacre bleu, what did HR say?” Well, you’ll be happy to know that every time HR was involved, their investigations found no evidence of any issues.” I know! I was relieved too!
So much of my physical and mental energy over the past years has been spent fighting my own workplace challenges and showing up to support others in theirs. That work has been necessary, unavoidable, and deeply human—but it also meant I had less time to dedicate to forming and sharing my perspectives on adtech.
Fast forward to now, and I’m a Founder & CEO (a title I never wanted, but that’s a future post) and everyone seems to want my POV. On LinkedIn, in client conversations, on panels — people ask, “What do you think?” But after years of fighting so hard to just exist without feeling threatened, finding my voice again hasn’t been simple. Part of me still hesitates. Part of me still thinks, “Do we really need another opinion out there?” Part of me feels guilty that I have to make space to do the adtech technical work, while we still have so far to go on the adtech human work.
Hence, rPOV, or Reluctant Point of View. It’s my attempt to make space for both: to honor the weight of lived experience while still engaging with the industry I’ve built my career around. It’s my way of practicing speaking up again, on my own terms. Not with hot takes, not with noise for the sake of it, but with thoughts that come from real experience, curiosity, and a decent amount of skepticism.
rPOV is where I’ll share my reluctant takes. It’s not going to be me pretending I have all the answers. It’s me being honest about what I see in this industry — the good, the bad, and the parts we don’t like to talk about. Sometimes that will be about ad tech or measurement, sometimes about the human side of working in media, and sometimes just about what it feels like to find your voice again after years of being told not to use it.
Reluctantly yours,
AL
